


brighten up, sunshine

by iron_spider



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Gen, James "Rhodey" Rhodes Needs a Hug, POV James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Precious Peter Parker, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:48:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28234929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iron_spider/pseuds/iron_spider
Summary: Rhodey doesn’t know what the hell to think, and Tony doesn’t give him any reason to stop as time moves on. The kid is always there, and he starts showing up at family dinners, Rhodey meets his aunt, and they actually pick him up from school a couple times when Happy gets sick. Rhodey pays close attention and no, Tony doesn’t treat any of the other interns like this, and Rhodey has to accept what his head has been trying to tell him all along. Actually, legitimately accept it. Visualize the word and link it to Tony and link it to Peter.This is Tony’s kid.
Relationships: James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark, Peter Parker & James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Peter Parker & James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 50
Kudos: 801
Collections: Irondad Fic Exchange 2020





	brighten up, sunshine

**Author's Note:**

  * For [killerqueenwrites](https://archiveofourown.org/users/killerqueenwrites/gifts).



> happy holidays, wonderful ciara <3 I hope you enjoy this!!

Rhodey first meets the kid when he’s recovering from that goddamn mess in Germany. 

When he’s deep in the physical therapy aspect of the whole hellish experience, which means he’s cursing more than normal and he’s tossing shit more than normal and taking long looks at himself in the mirror more than normal, whether to psych himself out or to give himself shit or any number of things on the long laundry list he’s made for himself since he fell out of the sky. That kind of thing can change a guy, make him look at himself different, and half the time when he’s staring at himself in the mirror and trying to find the answers, Tony shows up behind him. 

Rhodey doesn’t like having a hard time. He doesn’t like—any of this, or his reaction to it, or anybody seeing him like this. But it is what it is. He just has to get past it. Get through it. 

The leg braces are...they are what they are. Rhodey won’t complain about them because otherwise he’d be paralyzed—he is, he is paralyzed, and once again, Tony looked at that and said _no_ —but it’s still all a mess of bullshit and adapting and irritation, and he’s so goddamn distracted and that’s probably why he didn’t meet him sooner. 

Because the kid has definitely been around. A lot.

But Tony has been keeping most of his troubles to himself, to be fair, and almost everything else. Rhodey still asks and Tony brushes him off and Rhodey doesn’t wanna push because that would just stress the both of them out, but it does hit him sometimes that all of Tony’s chatter is always about Rhodey himself now, or what’s on the walls or what’s on the TV or the delivery guy or some dumb joke, but that’s it. Rhodey had vaguely heard about the plane situation, but at the time, Tony redirected when he asked.

Rhodey’s in the training room that Tony personally commandeered for him, and thankfully, he hasn’t fucking fallen down yet today, which is always a plus. He’s got both hands braced on the bars, and it isn’t as much of a strain as it was yesterday, which reminds him of that stupid goddamn thing Tony programmed Friday to say whenever Rhodey woke up in the morning. 

_Colonel Rhodes. Today will be better than yesterday but not as good as tomorrow. Brighten up, sunshine._

He’s such a pain in the ass. And the pain in the ass himself scans into the training room, with a kid that looks about fifteen trailing after him. Both of them are holding tablets and murmuring to each other as they walk inside, leaning into each other’s space, and the kid blinks at Tony with wide eyes and nods enthusiastically. Then his gaze cuts over to Rhodey, and Rhodey sees the red seep into his cheeks almost immediately. He stops walking alongside Tony and falls back a little bit, and Tony lets out a little laugh, winking at him. 

“Kid,” Tony says, both of them stopping in their tracks now, and Rhodey’s starting to wonder what the hell’s going on.

The kid’s standing there, and he taps his fingers on the outside of his tablet anxiously, holding it close to his chest. “Uh, uh, Mr.—no, uh, _Colonel_ Rhodes—”

“Hey,” Rhodey says, nodding towards him.

“Hi, hi,” the kid says, smiling wide. “Uh, I don’t wanna disturb you, but I just wanted to say that, uh, my name’s Peter Parker and I admire you, I—look up to you, I think you’re awesome, and I wrote a paper on you this year and did a whole, uh, diorama thing about heroes, and—”

“You didn’t use Tony?” Rhodey asks, laughing as he catches the look on Tony’s face. 

“He’s written about me before,” Tony says. “Let’s not make it a competition.” 

Peter laughs awkwardly, still blushing and still smiling, and there’s something very endearing about him. “Uh, yeah, so—I just wanted to tell you that you’re awesome and you’re, uh, a hero of mine and a lot of people at my school and it’s an honor to meet you. I just wanted—to tell you that. Yeah.” He nods to himself, once to Rhodey, and then once to Tony.

“Thanks, kid,” Rhodey says, taking a few, wavering steps forward, trying not to grit his teeth too hard. He still has no idea what the hell’s going on, but he’s not gonna be an asshole to this kid that Tony decided to bring in here, for whatever reason. “That’s real nice of you to say.”

Peter nods again and starts taking a couple steps backwards towards the door. “Okay, uh, have a nice day—Mr. Stark?”

“Go back to the workshop and start rearranging that drawer—” Tony says, gesturing to him.

“Right, right,” Peter says. 

“And then we’ll do the rest together but just log it all in there with Friday,” Tony says, still gesturing, all big.

“Okay, gotcha,” Peter says. He grins at both of them, and then he skips out of there. He actually skips. 

Rhodey laughs, taking a couple more treacherous steps along the bars. Tony stands close to him, scrolling with one thumb on his tablet, as if he isn’t ready and prepared to grab him if he falls. “Who’s that?” Rhodey asks. “We letting fans in now?”

“My intern,” Tony says, clearing his throat. “Nice kid and he’s been anxious to meet you, so I figured.”

“Oh, you figured.”

“Yes, I did figure,” Tony says, finally looking up at him.

“Got your goat he did a diorama on me, huh?” Rhodey says, still moving forward. 

“Listen, his essay on me was seventeen pages,” Tony says, walking alongside him. “A novel. Full of praise and descriptive words.”

“Uh huh, uh huh,” Rhodey says.

And he doesn’t think any more about it.

~

Until he sees him almost every day after that. There’s a ton of interns, but this kid is always right side by side with Tony, always the one in the know, always the one getting special treatment. Rhodey doesn’t think much of it, not for a bit, because while Tony likes to pretend he doesn’t play favorites, he absolutely does, and seems to be doing it again. Maybe Peter’s just smarter than the rest of the intern pool this year. Maybe he reminds Tony of Tony, or more sentimental yet, reminds Tony of his mom. Everything Rhodey’s seen of Peter tracks for him being a wonderful kid, kind and warm and intent on keeping other people safe and happy. That’s Maria Stark to the letter.

And Rhodey still misses her, so. He can imagine how Tony feels.

“Here,” Tony says, handing Peter a bag of takeout. “No mushrooms, extra cheese, sorry it was late. I got you some coupons you can use when you’re not here for the trouble. They’re always doing something down there.”

“It’s fine,” Peter says, taking the bag and smiling at him. “Thank you, you didn’t have to—do all that.”

“And you’re allowed to eat in the car, don’t let Happy mess with you, you know he likes to mess with you,” Tony says, raising his eyebrows high on his forehead.

Rhodey is just watching, his own eyebrows furrowed, and there’s something stirring in his head. 

“No, he’s not—he’s just kidding around,” Peter says, and he keeps looking at Rhodey too, as well as Tony. “It’s nothing like—”

“I know you get hungry before you get home, and this thing was late to begin with, don’t let Happy be a grump, alright?” Tony says. With a very particular tone.

“Okay, I won’t,” Peter says, nodding at him. “Scout’s honor. Even though I’m not a scout.”

Tony’s almost beaming at him. “Alright, head out, soldier, and enjoy that, we worked for it,” he says, pointing at Peter.

“Okay, thanks again,” Peter says. “Bye, Colonel Rhodes.”

“Seeya, kid,” Rhodey says, still a little distracted. 

“And see you tomorrow, Mr. Stark,” Peter says. “I’ll be here—”

“An hour early,” Tony says. “There will be donuts. Glazed for you, boring.”

Peter laughs, and Rhodey can see Happy waiting for him down at the end of the hall, by the elevator. He looks extremely put-upon. 

“I like what I like!” Peter yells, and he rushes to catch up with Happy. “Unlike someone who’s sprinkle obsessed! I’ve seen you!”

Rhodey’s mouth nearly drops open. Interns never talk to Tony like that. _The_ Iron Man. They always put him on the highest pedestal, treat him like he’s a damn God or something. But Tony doesn’t miss a beat.

“Love _each and every color of the rainbow_ ,” he says, without any heat. 

“Bye, bye!” Peter yells.

“Bye!” Tony yells back. He watches as Peter gets into the elevator with Happy, the two of them already snapping back and forth at each other, and when the doors close, Tony turns to Rhodey like nothing weird is going on. “Alright, now we gotta get our dinner. You still wanting Thai?”

Rhodey stares at him.

Tony stares back. “What? We doing a staring contest? You know I’ll win. What are our numbers, right now? A thousand sixty something to like, three hundred? Where’s the notepad where we’re keeping track?”

“What’s up with you and this kid?” Rhodey asks, crossing his arms over his chest. 

“What d’you mean what’s up?” Tony asks, going for nonchalance, but it’s almost laughable that he’s even trying. He glances away because he _knows_ it’s laughable. “He’s a good kid.”

“He’s your favorite, huh?” Rhodey asks, smiling.

“Yes, he’s my favorite,” Tony says, but he says it too fast and _what_ the shit is going on here? Tony never admits favorites. But this was just—admitted. No fight. “Now let’s go, Pepper’s hungry and you know how she gets.”

“But you certainly put all your focus and time into getting the kid’s order right before he left,” Rhodey says, still standing his ground, happy and lucky to be _standing_ without leaning against the wall or against Tony himself.

“Growing boy,” Tony says, and he’s not looking at him now, not at all, and Rhodey’s brain is throwing up question marks and dredging up memories, opening up the warehouse marked _Tony_ in his head and drawing out reminders from file folders of all the times he’s acted this way, and has he ever genuinely acted this way towards a kid for an extended period of time? All dad-like? He talked about that Tennessee kid for a bit, Harley, but that wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, no links between them, no mother that Tony had been connected to, and Rhodey realizes with that line of thought what his brain is thinking, what _he’s_ thinking, but no, it couldn’t actually—it _couldn’t—_ they’ve had scares in the past, possible kids that could have been Tony’s, but none of them ever panned out, not one time, but this feels like, this feels like maybe—

“C’mon, wake up,” Tony says, knocking him in the arm. He starts that slow walk that he knows Rhodey can keep up with, and Rhodey starts following him.

“Uh huh,” Rhodey says, to nothing in particular as he eyes him. “Uh huh.”

~

Rhodey doesn’t know what the hell to think, and Tony doesn’t give him any reason to stop as time moves on. The kid is always there, and he starts showing up at family dinners, Rhodey meets his aunt, and they actually pick him up from school a couple times when Happy gets sick. Rhodey pays close attention and no, Tony doesn’t treat any of the other interns like this, and Rhodey has to accept what his head has been trying to tell him all along. Actually, legitimately accept it. Visualize the word and link it to Tony and link it to Peter. 

This is Tony’s kid. 

Tony’s _lovechild._

Jesus Christ.

He’s almost insulted. His rehabilitation and recovery has been going well—a few setbacks, but nothing major, just up and up and up, and he’s walking again when he shouldn’t be. That’s due to his own stubbornness, sure, but it’s due to the braces, which are due to Tony. Tony is like his brother, they’d do anything for each other, the amount of love and memories built up there is big enough to drown them both and bring them back again, so why the hell is he playing around with this? Why isn’t he saying anything? He can’t use the accident and recovery as an excuse, because it _is_ going well, and even if it isn’t, Tony has a life too. Rhodey always wants to hear about his life, and he’s irritated at himself that he ever started to let him push it aside, keep it quiet. That’s his best friend, and if he’s got a kid, one that he clearly seems to love, well, Rhodey wishes he would tell him.

It’s bothering him that he won’t tell him. 

He wants him to tell him.

He feels like he’s in college again, dancing around this ball of lunacy and wondering what the hell he’s gonna do next. That’s when Tony stopped keeping things from him—they had a brief setback when all the Iron Man shit started, but that was quickly remedied, and Rhodey wants a quick fix to this, too. He stares at Tony when they’re alone, when they’re with other people, _especially_ when they’re with the kid, trying to send brain waves his way. _Tell me, Tones, come on, what’s the hold up, what the hell are you doing?_

But he doesn’t say it out loud. Not yet.

Biding his time. Waiting for Tony to do it first.

Getting more and more irritated.

His suspicions are only made clearer when he finds Tony in the med bay with the kid late on a Thursday night. He’d been searching the whole compound for him until Friday informed him Tony was up there, and Rhodey can see them through the glass when he arrives.

Peter is sitting on one of the beds with a black eye and some bloody scratches on his face, some more on his arms. He’s wearing pajamas and he’s shaking his head at Tony, who’s standing directly in front of him with pure panic on his face. They’re close together, and he reaches out and brushes the kid’s hair back from his forehead tenderly.

Rhodey’s heart nearly bursts out of his chest. He takes a few easy steps forward, and opens the door as quietly as he can.

“It’s fine,” he hears Peter saying. “No, but really, for real, it’s fine, Tony, I swear. How many times I gotta say it?” He laughs a bit to soften it up. “Totally fine, I’m okay.”

_Tony._

Tony doesn’t budge, and Rhodey has only seen that amount of concern in his eyes for a few people, himself included. It’s big and all-encompassing and _Jesus Christ_. “Don’t believe you,” Tony says, shaking his head. “Not gonna believe you until Helen takes a look at you. Jesus, buddy, your eye’s about to burst out of your head.”

_Buddy._

“It’s not,” Peter scoffs, kicking his feet back and forth. “It’s not, right?”

“No,” Tony says, softly. “Not if I have anything to do with it.”

Rhodey feels like he’s intruding, standing here and listening like a lunatic to this whole dad and son conversation, so he decides to actually intrude, and barges in there. Well, his version of barging, but he pushes his legs to their limit, and Tony and Peter see him pretty quickly. 

“What the hell happened to you, kid?” Rhodey asks, before either one of them can say anything. He doesn’t look good, and Rhodey can see why Tony’s worried. His kid’s gotten fucking beat up or some shit.

 _His kid_. Rhodey’s brain is already accepting it as fact. Did this little display do it? Set it in stone? Jesus. Tony has a kid. Tony has a _teenager_ and he still hasn’t said anything about it and Rhodey should kick his ass, for that. But what the hell is going on?

“He got—”

“I got mugged, Colonel Rhodes,” Peter says, super exaggerated. “It was so bad, I mean, I can’t fight to save my life, and they just grabbed me in the alleyway after school—”

“Doesn’t Happy normally pick you up?” Rhodey asks, getting suspicious. 

Peter glances at Tony quickly, and then he wets his lips. “Yeah, this was right before,” he says. “Me and my friend Ned were like, messing around with the, uh—with the dumpster, uh, yeah—but then Ned left and I was walking back to the school to meet Happy and this guy just grabbed me. And beat me up. And took my backpack.” He stares at Rhodey and Rhodey stares back. “And it sucked,” Peter adds on, swallowing hard.

Rhodey’s mind is going a mile a minute. He feels like he’s going insane, and he’s thinking things he doesn’t wanna think about the kid getting hurt and why, and he’s clearly fucking lying, and Rhodey feels kinda sick and Tony is just standing there. 

“Tony,” Rhodey says. “Can I just. Quickly. Talk to you outside, real quick.” He nods at Peter. “Not even out of sight, okay?”

Peter realizes he’s talking to him, trying to reassure him, and he looks startled. “Oh, yeah yeah, don’t worry about me, I’m totally fine. Totally good.”

“Just a sec,” Tony says, and he reaches out and squeezes Peter’s shoulder gently. 

Then he follows Rhodey out of the room. As soon as the door closes behind them, Rhodey rounds on him, and feels like all the insane things he’s been thinking, all the horrible thoughts seeing the kid like that, just flow right out of him in a mess of emotion.

“Listen, Tony,” Rhodey says. “I know things have been messed up lately, with me and the others disappearing and shit and everything that went down, but if that’s your kid, your—your _kid_ , your biological kid, which I think he is, with the way you’re acting, and—and some shit is going on—I don’t know, I’m just like, spitballing here, but if that’s your kid and he’s like, stuck with some evil stepparents or some shit that are like, beating him up? Abusing him? And they’re getting the opportunity to do it because he’s still stuck in their house, because you won’t claim him or something or other, I don’t, I can’t—that doesn’t seem like you, Tony, and I know you, I know you wouldn’t do that, so I’m real confused here—”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, what in the hell?” Tony asks, waving his hands around. “What soap operas are you watching?”

“Listen,” Rhodey says, feeling himself getting heated. “I know that’s your kid,” he says. “I know it, I know it in my bones, in my _soul_ , Tones, you don’t ever act the way you do with him, and it’s real sweet and shit, but now he’s suddenly in here all—beat up? Making up some story about getting mugged? A lie if I ever heard one, and one that sounds like something you made up for him, Christ—”

“Rhodes, Rhodey, my God, he’s…” Tony steps a little closer, whispering now. “He’s not my kid. He’s not. Jesus Christ. He’s not my kid, he’s Spider-Man.”

Rhodey stares at him. 

Tony stares back.

The world tilts a little bit, mocking him.

“Are you fucking with me?” Rhodey asks, deadpan.

“No,” Tony whispers. “He’s not _my child_ , and I’d tell you that and you know I’d tell you that, what the hell? I’d tell you that the second I _sensed_ something different in the universe, and you know Pepper would know and she’d never be able to be quiet about it, especially to you—the timeline barely works out, holy shit, what world are you living in?”

“Well,” Rhodey says, his brain trying to—process this, trying to catch up. “Well, I was—he’s Spider-Man? The guy that was fighting with us in Germany, that’s—this kid? Peter?”

“Yes, but please, it’s a secret,” Tony says. “I know I tell you everything but I gotta protect this kid because, well…” He sucks in a breath and shakes his head, and a bunch of emotions sweep across his face.

Rhodey keeps staring. And then he smiles. “Man, it’s even sweeter, isn’t it?” he asks. “He’s not your biological kid but you love him anyway. And not because he’s Spider-Man or whatever, you just—you love the kid because you love the kid. Not because of any—obligation, you just...aw, Tony, that’s so sweet.”

“Stop,” Tony says, glaring at him and stepping back a bit, but Rhodey reaches out and shakes his shoulder. “You’re killing me.”

“You’re killing _me_ ,” Rhodey says, letting go of him. “I don’t even know what the hell I was thinking, but for months now—and now him sitting in here all messed up, my brain just—he’s really Spider-Man? This Peter? Your Peter?”

“ _My_ ,” Tony mocks, rolling his eyes. “Yes, but you can’t tell anybody.” He glares at him. “You over here thinking I had a child that I was letting get _abused_ in some other house. I can’t deal with you. What the hell is that? I’m—offended. It’s bad enough I let him continue to go out and be Spider-Man, shit, I had a whole meeting with his aunt about rules and regulations but he still gets all fucked up...and you thought—”

“Yeah, I don’t know,” Rhodey laughs. “I don’t know what I was thinking.” He feels strangely...relieved. Very relieved. Even though the kid is sitting in there with a black eye and bloody scratch marks. 

“Me either,” Tony says. “Insane person.”

“Alright, alright,” Rhodey says. “Go back and—tend to little Spidey, there.”

Tony heaves a sigh, staring off at him through the glass. Peter is sitting there, kicking his feet back and forth again, wincing when he reaches up and touches his eye. “It’s a lot like being a father, though,” Tony says. 

Rhodey raises his eyebrows. “And yet you still—”

“And yet I still,” Tony says, definitively. 

Rhodey grins at him.

~

And everything is different, after that revelation, but clearly Tony didn’t tell the kid that Rhodey knows his secret, because whenever he comes in with some kind of injury, he’s spouting off a ridiculous lie, one that’s so bad that Rhodey doesn’t know how he gets away with it when it comes to other people. 

Peter’s sitting next to Tony on the couch, a bowl of popcorn between them, and Tony is holding an ice pack against the kid’s forehead. Tony is literally the one holding it, when Rhodey walks in, even though Peter has both hands free. Well, one to eat popcorn with, but still. _Jesus. Full out dad mode, activated._

It’s sweet as hell. 

Rhodey forgets what he even came in here for. “What’d you do now, Peter?” he asks, hands on his hips. Walking is a little less difficult, today. _But not as good as tomorrow._

“Oh, uh, I fell down the stairs at school and banged my head,” Peter says, one eye searching him out from under the ice.

“He fell down the stairs, Rhodey,” Tony says, still holding the ice pack there. He gives him a very pointed look.

“You’re real unlucky, kid,” Rhodey says, walking over to sit in the recliner. 

“Yeah, but Ton–Mr. Stark’s always helping me, even though he’s so busy, which is great, and my aunt appreciates it so much because she’s always working and she can’t believe I’m so unlucky, like you just said—”

“Uh huh,” Tony says, and he sounds like he’s trying not to laugh. “You are very welcome, young Jedi master.”

Peter laughs, grinning to himself as he gathers up another handful of popcorn. 

“That what we’re watching?” Rhodey asks, looking at the TV. “Star Wars?”

“Yup,” Peter says. “But I know Mr. Stark has no idea which one it is, and probably wouldn’t be able to figure it out unless an ewok shows up.”

“Listen, I like those little bears,” Tony says, tossing a piece of popcorn at Peter. Peter laughs again and picks it up, popping it in his mouth.

Rhodey watches them as Peter snarks something back about the ewoks again, and he feels like his heart is growing ten sizes. Tony took everything hard, with the break and with Steve, and with what happened to him. Rhodey knows Tony owns everything that happens around him, even if they don’t have anything to do with him. His guilt is looming and painful.

So seeing him like this, with this kid. 

It feels like healing to Rhodey, too.


End file.
